MISD has fewer teacher openings as school year nears

Number of vacant positions is nearly half compared to last academic year, administrator says

Stewart Doreen sdoreen@mrt.com

Published 5:24 pm, Thursday, August 10, 2017

Photo: John Kuczala/Getty Images

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Midland ISD officials said earlier this week there were 38 open positions -- with six being processed -- as the first day of school approaches (Aug. 28).

Midland ISD officials said earlier this week there were 38 open positions -- with six being processed -- as the first day of school approaches (Aug. 28).

Photo: John Kuczala/Getty Images

MISD has fewer teacher openings as school year nears

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The number of open Midland ISD teacher positions heading into the beginning of school has dropped by nearly two-thirds since 2015.

Midland ISD officials said earlier this week there were 38 open positions -- with six being processed -- as the first day of school approaches (Aug. 28).

The number of openings is about one-third of the openings from 2015 (96) and about half of the vacancies the district had last year (60), according to the district.

“That is by far the lowest number we have had going back to 2015,” said Ed Zachary, the outgoing executive director for Human Resource Services.

Zachary told the MISD board of trustees at its meeting on Monday the fewer number openings is a result of a long, proactive recruiting season and the reduction in numbers at central office. Earlier this summer, MISD officials announced they reduced the number of officials based at central office and redirected those positions to the classroom.

Zachary said he is seeing officials from school districts all over the state “desperately” looking for teachers, especially to fill math and English positions.

“Demand for teachers is at an all-time high,” Zachary said.

Zachary told the board Midland ISD’s compensation package is one of the most competitive that “we see” in state or out. The salary for a first-year teacher before the most recent budget cycle was $49,050, an increase from $40,900 in 2010. Zachary also said the district’s matching annuity program is “attractive” to young people and that prospects also like that they won’t have pay for their own health insurance. The MISD board has made it a point to highlight that while teacher salaries increased by less than 2 percent this upcoming year, the board’s decision to cover increases in insurance made the increase in the teacher’s total compensation package closer to 4 percent.

Zachary said that when attending out-of-state job fairs, Midland ISD’s teacher compensation package “blows them away.” It is just a matter of getting them to pick up and come to Midland, he said.

Zachary is retiring at the end of the month. Woodrow Bailey, the district’s current director of Professional Certification and its interim communications director, will take over for Zachary. MISD posted a salary range of $102,000 to $133,000 in its advertisement for the position earlier this summer.